· Thurs. Oct. 26th 6:00 pm Goodman South Madison Library (2222 S. Park St.) Screening of Thirst - the 2004 character-driven documentary with no narration that explores the debate over water rights between communities and corporations in the context of globalization. Hosted by the Gray Panthers of Madison. Info? 608-438-9536

We discussed the document drafted by Karen, “Deforest-Windsor Area Grassroots ‘We Care’” (see below) and made some changes. Homework assignment for next Monday’s meeting is to rewrite the fourth paragraph in three sentences that says that corporations are not people and money is not speech. Further discussion on the document will take place next week. Karen explained that the “We Share” document is intended to be the opening page on the new D-WAG.org website she is constructing. D-WSG.org is almost ready to go.

Karen briefed us on an opportunity to view the live streaming of “Rights of Nature Symposium in New Orleanais on 10/27/17 from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm. Go to the CELDF website to sign on. “The Symposium Program will include leading experts, lawyers, and activists from Ecuador, Australia, Nepal, the United States, and elsewhere, and will also include speakers re[resenting local, communities, and indigenous p[peoples, including Bill Greendeer of the Ho Chunk Nation. Topics include Limitations of Conventional Environmental, Law, Center for Earth Ethics Recognizing the rights of Nature in Law, and White Earth Land Recovery Project. Go to CELDF.org for further information.

T-shirts: this loyal DWAG member is tired of this topic. J Anyway, Karen and Ginny are working on an email regarding color and logo. Everyone of this list will get the email when it is ready.

Hannah Rajnicek, Editor of the DeFoerst Times-Tribune, will be our guest on November 13th, so everyone try to plan ahead to be at the meeting to meet Hannah, welcome her to the DeForest-Windsor-Vienna area, and ask questions about news media business, local issues, Hannah’s background and opinions, or anything else on your mind.

Deforest-Windsor Area Grassroots

“We Care”

We care about other people because we believe that when we all do better, we all do better!

We believe in the value of the things that we cannot provide for ourselves: clean air; clean water; good roads; street lights; police and fire protection; public schools through community colleges and technical schools; public transit systems; municipal water and sewer systems for those who live in built up areas; a free and open internet for all; good public libraries and so many other things that are part of the public Commonwealth. We are willing to work for these things with our voices, our votes, and to contribute towards them with our tax dollars as a right and a privilege of our membership in this community of free citizens.

We believe that all who benefit from the Commons must pay their fair share: those who produce goods and services and throw their waste products into the common air and water without paying for garbage removal, artificially inflate the profits paid to owners at the expense of their neighbors. Those whose overweight trucks wreck local roads must pay directly for repairs to those roads, rather than shifting the burden onto the Commons. Privatizing the profit and socializing the cost helps the few and penalizes the many.

We believe that an individual human citizen is the only one endowed with the Constitutional right to political speech. We further believe that money is property. Corporations are not “people” and have no place in the political process. No organization created by the laws of a government should have a say in how that government is to be run!

We believe that all citizens have the right to vote and that it is the true responsibility of government to ensure that it is as easy as possible for all citizens to exercise that right as possible. This means that voter ID laws should be repealed, voting hours expanded for early voting, statewide special voting registrar certification reinstated, etc. This includes support for same-day voter registration!

We believe that where workers believe that employer power requires a balancing force, they should be able to organize to unite their voices in a group as a counterbalance to that power. Where such a union exists, unless an employer maintains a two-tier wage/benefit structure for union/non-union members, that employer shall need to collect equivalent sums from all employees to be forwarded to the bargaining agent for its services.

We believe in freedom of religion and the separation of church and state as founding principles of this country. This includes the freedom to not believe in any established religion.

We believe that healthcare is a human right and must be available to all at a cost that is affordable to all. We support a woman's right to choose the time and circumstances under which she shall bear a child and urge expanded family planning and reproductive education in the schools. We also urge support for work-place childcare and neonatal family services at all levels.

We believe that our state university system is a gem to be cherished and protected! We will work to elect legislators who value education as much as we do!

We believe that racial justice must be a core value of the 21st century world and that equality under the law must be vigorously supported by all elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.